


She's Only Human (but that's not the point)

by berusama



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-16
Updated: 2009-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-14 17:37:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11788083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berusama/pseuds/berusama
Summary: Nyota Uhura has never hated Jim Kirk





	She's Only Human (but that's not the point)

Nyota Uhura has never hated Jim Kirk.

At first she was vaguely flattered by this attention and pleasantly surprised by his intellect and, she’ll admit, his audacity.

Then she was annoyed when he sat next to her in her honors xenolinguistics class (a course he shouldn’t have been able to get into, let alone perform well enough to be second in the class).

She was indignant when he managed to complete the officer’s track in 3 years, but was placated by the thought that Spock had finished the graduate science program in less than that.

Throughout his three years at the academy she experienced different degrees of amusement and exasperation thanks to the man and his never ending come-ons. (“Hey!” he’d yell across the quad because she’d never given him anything else to call at her, and heads would turn to see whose attention Jim Kirk was trying to get this time.)

She wanted to hate him after he provoked Spock to violence on the Enterprise bridge but the situation was frantic and frightening enough that she did as she was told, regardless of her feelings for the new Acting-Captain.

Later she was grateful for his intuition and decisiveness, but only after Spock assured her that the (now) Captain’s actions were logical and somewhat appreciated. (“You can’t be serious!” she’d exclaimed, not understanding at all. “I am indeed. The interaction was cathartic in a way and I was thus able to acknowledge and manage the emotions I was repressing,” Spock had said. At the time she shook her head, said, “Well if punching the Captain is that therapeutic, maybe I should try it,” and let the subject drop.)

When Jim Kirk steals her boyfriend, she’s mad and she doesn’t try to hide it. She tells herself that she was right all along: Kirk is nothing but a self-absorbed jerk who’s too used to getting what he wants to back off and let other people be happy. She knows that type and she tells herself she won’t stand for it. This may be the 23rd century, but men still get to wear the Starfleet regulation pants and for a day Jim Kirk is the embodiment of every sexist stereotype she’s ever hated. But when she sees them together – when she sees the way Jim teases Spock and how Spock smiles softly in response – it makes sense and objectively she can understand why. She’s never treated Spock the way Jim does, at first because he was her superior at the academy, and then because she thought him so fragile and needing so much care. Jim isn’t careless, but he’s rough and brash and doesn’t embarrass easily which she doesn’t think ever described Spock until she walks in on them kissing in the transporter room, Scotty fiddling with the controls just a few feet away. She leaves before they can see her and she wants to hate Jim Kirk, she really does, but it’s hard feeling hate over something so sweet.

So she doesn’t hate him… not even now as she sits chained to the floor, bloody and bruised. It’s not his fault they only had one broken communicator between them. It was strong enough to send out a signal, but unable to tell the Enterprise that there were two to beam up and not just one. It’s not his fault their jailer took the disappearance of the Captain out on her.

She runs her tongue over a split in her lip and tries to ignore the way her joints are cramping. It’s been awhile but he said he’d be back; promised her as the tiny gold lights had swarmed and taken him away to safety. She knows he’ll try his hardest to honor that promise but she won’t hold her breath, just in case.

It’s another six hours before they find her. She’s startled awake by the sound of the cell door slamming against the wall (it was ancient enough to actually have hinges and she thinks that probably satisfied the Captain a bit because he is obviously the one who kicked it open). Leonard pushes past Spock and Sulu who are standing just behind Jim and she smiles at him wearily as he takes her chin in his fingers and angles her face to get a better look at the bruise on her cheek.

“I think I’m okay,” she rasps and then Sulu is there, firing short phaser blasts at the chains until they break. When Leonard’s done scanning her, satisfied that she’s in no immediate danger, Spock lifts her gently and the Captain calls for five to beam up.

Pavel is waiting in the transporter room with Scotty when they materialize and she tries to smile for him because he looks so worried, but her eyes are already closing again.

“She’ll be fine,” she hears Jim say softly, probably placing a gentle hand on the ensign’s shoulder. Silently she agrees with him as Spock carries her to sick bay. She will be fine; she _is_ fine. She loves her job and her crew and even her Captain. Though if anyone asks she’ll just roll her eyes and say, “Jim Kirk? He’s alright, I guess.”


End file.
